Interpreting other people's tarot readings

Almost every other day, I get an email that goes something like this:

“I was wondering if you could look at this reading I did for myself and tell me your thoughts. I’m confused.” (In some cases, they are contacting me about a reading that another tarot reader did for them.)

Nine out of ten times the questions is about an estranged lover. It’s also almost always from a stranger who has never worked with me. You can tell that they just chose me randomly because there is zero effort to be friendly or to even engage in polite chit-chat about my world. It’s just “here’s my reading” and gimme gimme gimme your tarot thoughts. (By the way, I’m not the only reader who gets this – I have heard this same email pitch from my fellow mystics.)

I am a friendly gal but I never honor these requests. Why? One, I don’t have time. If I entertained every one of these appeals – which basically comes down to me doing a free reading, I would have zero time for paid work. To sit down, lay out a reading, and then try to interpret it – not to mention writing back – takes time. Just “doing it off the top of my head” is not my style. I care about quality. I’m not a tarot automaton. By the way, the very few times I ever responded to these emails, I ended up with a barrage of further emails wanting more details because they were “confused” by something I said. (These people seem to be awfully “confused” a lot.) It always became a huge time suck.

In other words, they really wanted to milk my tarot brain for all it’s worth. Think about what that feels like for a minute. (Would these people do this to their doctor or attorney? Probably not. I’m also pretty sure that doctors and attorneys would not allow that behavior.)

Second, it’s difficult to “just” look at someone else’s reading and interpret it. Why?

It’s because my energy is not attached to that reading. When I do a reading, it’s coming from ME. I am connecting with my client, shuffling those cards, and feeling out the what they may mean.

To fiddle around with a reading that someone else did and try to experience whatever it is that they were feeling at the time that they did that reading is not as easy as you think. Speculating over what it might mean or what that other tarot reader said leads to a whole lot of over-analyzing and fretting over details. (It’s the same with dream interpretation. I don’t offer that service because, in my opinion, the energy is personal and the symbols are too.)

A better course of action: rather than going from reader to reader to figure it out (or trying to get a freebie reading or tarot lesson), get a journal and write down your own interpretation. You may also want to scour a few tarot books and write their insights down too (I have a list for you if you need a suggestion). Study hard. Put the reading aside. Revisit it later. It may make more sense then. Plus, in time, you’ll get the hang of it if learning tarot is your motive.

You may also want to join tarot forums where you can practice with other readers. If money is an issue, this is a great – and free – way to grow your skills. Search the internet or check out some of the tarot groups on Facebook. There are plenty of friendly online spaces for you to choose from.

Another option may be to purchase a reading (or take a class) from a reader that you trust. This creates an equal exchange of energy. If you want someone to do your tarot work, you should be willing to offer something in return. This is only fair for the reader that you are contacting. After all, you probably don’t want to work for free. So please don’t expect that mystics should either.

Blessings,

Theresa

Can’t afford a reading? ATA offers a free reading service. But please don’t abuse that generous service too. Time is energy, yo.

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